Maryanne and Julia pt 1

Nice one. Place Massena.

We downloaded all the photos from Julia's camera. So am updating it. Maryanne and Julia's school was in the middle of Nice. They'd pass the dude in the fountain each day. Apparently it's Apollo. He's the first god with horses on his head. A swollen head clearly.

They got off the bus here, walked through the nicer part of town. At home, everyone would do their homework, including Ollie who's getting some this year for the first time.

Louis in Noli

Here's a couple of shots from our day trip to Noli. It's a pretty village, typical of the area.

Typical Italian traffic jam: Noli. 

St Paul de Vence

This week, the two of them went to England for four days to visit family. The second part of this week, there was no school for them.

2 new guys at work

Looks like a nice one Millie.

Filly tells us she's looking forward to coming over. They're practicing by eating croissants. We'll have to have one every day when yous get here then!

Yeeha: the boys on hearing the news that Mill's coming.

In other news, me and the boys went to the beach, and gave Marie a break (that's actually news).


I forgot to mention, when we went camping last time, we dropped in at the wolf park: Parc Alpha. We got to see a few of them during feeding time, but mostly they were laying around sleeping. The boys had a good time watching, then running around the picnic area with the parc goats.


We've got two new guys at work. Neither speak practically a word of French. One guy is Scottish from Australia, the other is from India. That's 2 new accents to get used to. They tell me they can understand the Scotsman, but an Indian accent is especially hard to get. I'm in demand for translating emails, and listening on the odd phone call.

I thought wolves were scary.

Weekend here

Maryanne in a rare photo, and Julia.

We went up locally to Cagnes sur Mer on Friday night for dinner, which led to pancakes for breakfast with John Louis, Sylvie and Romain. We went to a local beach in Nice to watch some sailing races just off shore. Apparently they're pretty good, but we chatted mostly, then walked off for ice cream.

with Marie, Louis and Sylvie.

Sunday we drove over to Italy to a little village, Noli.

Julia and Maryanne's here!

It's always blue skies around here, but as soon as Mayanne and Julia's plane was due to land, a big storm came in. They landed a bit over an hour late. Their plane did a big plunge at one time, "the tower of terror"and their bums got off their seats. All the attendants ran for it, to get back to their seats. Not good just before expecting to land, some screaming all round. Then the turbulence made Maryanne sick. She looked more dead than sick to me after 24 hours odd. Julia seemed ok!

This morning they were trying to beep through our front gate. We finally got the right code, then I told them to run! After making sure they got on the bus, Marie pointed out that we didn't tell them how to get back home again, no way to contact us and no keys. They got back fine though at about 3.

Apparently day one went well enough. They're still jetlagged, so the homework was slow going.

I had a medical checkup at work, and weighed in at 83kg. I thought I'd write that down, as I'm pretty chuffed, and may not get skinny again ever.

Tan man and Stephane visit

Stephane and Tania.

Really nice to have Tania, Stephane, Sophia and Chloe pop in for a visit, and stay. They were in our neighbourhood as Stephane was visiting his family. He got to speak with the boys. After two years, they can talk now. They had the chance to get Stephane read them a story book in French, but they chose The Cat in the Hat. So they got a regular story book with a strong French accent. We went for a walk with everyone last night, as always. Stephane tells us that although it's annoying to be here, when you can't find things, when we go back home, it'll be the same as we won't be able to find the stuff we buy here and break road rules as you need to etc.

The kids got to sleep eventually.

Apple picking at Chateau D'Astros
And in other news, Ollie went apple picking today for a school excursion. He has been over excited for about a week! We got 2 or 4kg of apples afterwards. We'll be making a few apple crumbles, so stay out of the area for a bit. Might have calmed down by the time Maryanne and Julia get here. In three days!!! We have heaps of visitors in the next while. It's something to look forward to, but it'll be depressing once it's all over.

Camping

Car racing track next to our tent.

We finally tried it, and it all worked out well. We got rained on the first time around. Marie froze, and ended up on the boys sleeping mats.

The boys helping the pot to boil.

A bad idea! Turns out, the coffee pot can sit straight on it.

Louis getting in the change room.

Before the second time, we bought two more thermarests. These are warm, give a nice soft layer, and roll up afterwards. This time we got the boys to stay out of the tent while we put the bedding in, much easier. There was a nice patch of dirt to run cars around.


The first one was at Saint Martin Vesubie, where I lost Louis's camera, damn it, and these photos are from Saint-Vallier-de-Thiey.

The long drive back home again.

Louis wonders how to do this one, but walks it, Basel. 

So then it was time to drive back home again. We went through Switzerland, which is nice but pricey. Finally across the top left corner of Italy, and home. Torino has some strange awful suburbs, and a really beautiful town centre. Sorry mum, the shroud is only visible every decade or so apparently. Cuneo is small but lovely.


And school hols were finished, along with summer. The boys were excited to get back to school again. Ollie's in the "big" school this year - the CP.

After going to jump in the lake, Montreux.

Torino has a beautiful town centre, and bizarre suburbs.

Italy's in a bit of trouble for now... Torino.

Couldn't agree more! In Cuneo.

Technikal Museum Sincheim

The Concord is still impressive after so many years.

It has the Concorde supersonic airliner, and the Concordski, the copy from Russia. The Concordski, aka Tupolev Tu-144 is a monster, hugely impressive, loads of seating and supersonic, with amazing engines. The retractable little wings up the front, and the tilting nose are amazing, given they didn't have the same resources as the west.

We got a call from the lady who owned the flat to ask where we were. Why? Because we were supposed to have left already. Woops, got out a bit late after getting back there
.

The Tu-144 supersonic airliner is incredible up close.

Only in Germany, a real cockpit to check out.

Next stop was Heidelberg

A nice old town

The boys at high speed in a local park

Ollie missing the slide for a bit

A local house I'd like to live in.

We stayed in a nice old appartment with kitchen, washer, bedding for 6: the boys jumped on every bed, especially the loft level. The highlight was the Technical Museums - planes, tanks, slides, miniature railways, etc, even a rotating automatic organ was a hit with the kids.

There were bikes all over the place.

We wandered up to the castle. We caught some trams around, but the burbs weren't great! The town itself is beautful.

The technik museum Speyer

Ollie in the cargo hold of the 747.

The 747 is up high, and has a slide.

Where else can you take two kids aged 4 and 6, and have them run around looking at stuff until about 6pm, and not stop once? Except for lunch. Lucky Marie packed some sandwiches. They scoffed odd halves here and there, then ran back to go on a slide, see another plane, model train or whichever.

Electric powered hydraulic digger thing

This place has the Buran, the Russian space shuttle. I love Russian rockets and space paraphynalia. Seeing the real thing, and walking inside is amazing. One of these did go into space.

There's loads of cars, planes and a submarine you can walk through. 10/10.

The Buran from Russia.

Wurzburg

The fountains are for littlies in Nuremberg

Ollie outside the Oliver store.

Wurzburg, another lovely town on the river.

On the main bridge.

Wurzburg has a nice fortress thing up on hill. 

The city of Wurzburg.

Bamberg

A river runs though it.

 We caught a train to Bamberg. We wandered around. We came home to Nuremberg again.

The trains are even a bit more fun

There's a nice Cathedral up on the hill.

Just like that movie Cocoon, old people forget to be old.

The rose garden looking over town.

Nuremberg

Nuremberg - rebuilt, and beautiful.

We drove to Nuremberg via nightmarishly car clogged Passau. We parked the car and left it for 5 days. The local trams and state trains are just the best.

Mum, dad, can we go on the U bahn??

Every loco was perfectly restored.

There is so much to do in this place. The museums are amazing. The train museum was so good, the boys cried when we dragged them out of there. The boys ran around the loco displays. One of the loco engines was cut in half, with animated lights showing how steam works. On the way, there was a whole other museum on communications, where Ollie had a go at being a TV presenter, also fun. On the last level, there was wooden toy tracks, automated model trains, and one a bit bigger that they could ride on. Kiddie heaven.

There is also a toy museum, where all the old interesting toys were laid out, together with a room full of toys to play with, then an outdoor play area with more interesting play stuff.

Making a call in the communications museum

We also ran out of cash for a while. Since the supermarkets all took cash or some ecard thing which we didn't have, we had to take it easy. This just meant we couldn't stop for coffee, and once I had to leave everything at the checkout, which upset Louis a bit. 2 days later, it was back to normalish.

Taking a ride on a train in the train museum

Going shopping in Germany is awesome. Everything is made in Germany. You can't go wrong! I'd love to snap up a bike, but I've already got one.

We didn't even get to half the places here, important places, like the Nazi rally grounds, or where they had the trials. The kids wouldn't be so keen.

Summer hols

5 greate days in Graz Austria. 

Thursday 8 August started early. Stuffing odds into my bag, I grabbed a blue bike up the street, went into Cros de Cagnes to withdraw some cash, and ran to the station, getting a ticket with a minute to spare for the Ventimiglia train. I had an hour there to print the 2 Italian train tickets I'd bought online, and wander the old town, steep, winding and like all the old villages here, lovely.

Graz, a car free CBD nightmare, awesomely beautiful.

One more train to Milan, then about 6 hours until catching the next. I wanted to hire a public bike. The signs said you can sign up at any ATM. After discovering a big sign saying ATM near the main square, and following the tunnels to the office, ATM is: the Azienda Trasporti Milanesi. Pay up, get a code, go punch it in, and the world is ready to explore. I never had any idea how many different little piazzas, tramways, charming buildings etc etc there are. Great bikes.

The armoury in Graz.

After the night train, which despite all the horror theft stories, was super pleasant and easy, the first stop was Graz, Austria (pronounced Grutts if I heard right). Marie picked it based on Google pictures. The brochure says this place is the most bike friendly in Austria, are there are bikes all over the place.

Marie and the boys spent a lovely 2 weeks in Croatia, swimming on the coast, and staying with the family inland. We met up in Graz.

The local museum that look like Dr Seuss made it is full of model buildings, thumbs up from the boys. The local park on the hill is pleasant, if you don't lose a phone. There's a cave and now the boys want to see every cave in all areas. Armoury museum is tops.

Last day of trip, Monday.

Tomorrow is the last day of our summer holiday trip! Tuesday I start work, and next week is the new school year for the boys. Ollie moves onto the next section in school, the CP. He's going to be getting homework. We're just getting used to the fact that he can speak.
An update on our cash problems, turns out that German train accepts credit cards. So we did a few day trips to nearby towns. We also found a huge pharmacy that takes them. We loaded up on muesli, corn flakes, milk, sunscreen, deodorant and other odd products. We also bought 3 pieces of fruit from a street vendor with our last small change. With almost no cash, Marie complained that she couldn't just buy things. Every cloud has a silver lining. It was less stressful than we'd thought in the end.
Then a couple of days later, the bank spat out 400 euros, and we all said yippee! The boys were really pleased. Our accommodation is always paid in cash, so it's good timing.
Currently in Torino on the way home. Last stop was Switzerland. Don't go there unless you're feeling stupidly rich. Will write up more once I load my 2000 odd photos onto the computer at home.

Gettin die euro sh 1 ts yah

Marie took off with the boys Thursday the 26th, and called up about 4 in the afternoon. How's it going? Not so good! She can't find her wallet, and last time she had it was in a service station about 200km ago.

After driving back to see if she left it on the counter when buying ice cream, they don't have it. I check online, and the card's been cancelled already. I didn't report it, and not her either, so it must be the thief trying to use it. Our best guess is that they took it from her handbag, since sometimes it floats invitingly on top of everything.

Of the things to be sure not to lose, car keys are one. Phone is high on the list, but the wallet raises problems like: how do I now exit the autoroute without money? How do we eat, pay for accomodation etc? After filing a police report, turns out you can fill in a form at the autoroute office to pay later. After that Marie borrowed from her cousin, who she met in Milan.

Other than that, they had a nice time on the Croatian coast, and then with the family in Slavonski Brod. Staying with family solves most problems. I catch 4 trains to meet up with them in Graz. It's been a relaxing, kinda boring two weeks, but I got a lot done, and had a couple of nice dinners.

First thing is to pull out some cash at Graz to finally pay the landlord. All is good until a visit to the Shlossberg hill. After that, Ollie wants to use Marie's phone to take a photo, but now it seems there's no phone! Louis borrowed it to play games on the hill, and some time it was lost, not to be seen laying around 30 minutes later. The employees of the funiculair couldn't care less when I ask if they've had one handed in. No it seems.

Now, how to block the thing without a phone to do it? I go online to try to block it. You have to log in first. This requires a new passcode, and the only way to get it is via sms. Skype doesn't work for the automatic system. We call our neighbour on Skype who is a nice guy, speaks French, and knows how to make an exception to the rule of only being able to cancel your own phone. We finally think to call the phone, and a nice German fellow answers "yah I got it!". Phew! Now it's back but just blocked.

So to today. I try to withdraw some spending money in Germany. The bank says I'm out. Turns out there's a 500 euro limit per week. Nice time to find out. What's for dinner?? I can still use the credit card. Me and Louis walk to find a supermarket, pick up some milk, pasta, chicken, cereal, eggs etc etc. The checkout dude says he doesn't take credit cards. So we leave all our stuff at the register and walk out in shame after apologising. Louis says, but we left all our things in there! I laugh, then get sad, then walk right across town to Aldi. Asking before going in, they don't take my card either. I wonder if I can buy someone a Montblanc pen for example, and then ask for the cash, but admit defeat and trudge home, wondering how best to spend the 2 euros cash I have left. Lucky we had some bolognese leftovers already frozen, so ok tonight.

Thank god the apartment is paid already, and the internet has a supermarket listed as taking cards. So we'll see what happens tomorrow. We can get another 400 in a couple of days.

The end of year school spectacular

Almost as exciting as going on holidays itself. Not sure what this is about, but it's good for sure.

Then they ended the show on a high point, albeit a 7 minute long high point:

and for a bonus, here's one from the beach that got video bombed halfway through:

Evonne visits!

The main fountain in the middle of town.

Evonne came over for another visit. The boys had a great time with their Aunty. We stayed around the local area, went to a couple of villages, ate a LOT of food.

The local beach.

The chaps visit

Mike, Jeannie, Emma and Marie.

All 3 of the Chaps came over for a good week. This is the correct amount of time, as there is heaps to see. It's enough time to relax on the beach for a bit too.

Mike and Emma.

On Thursday afternoon, I ducked out of work early for the second time this week, and picked them up from the train station in town. I took Friday off. So we had a nice relaxing day, as the boys were in school. We headed up to St Paul de Vence, which is one of the nicest perched villages around.

Saturday we went to Coursegoules, which is a tiny village up in the hills, well outside of the towns. It has almost no homes around, v. picturesque. Then we went to the beach for a swim.

Special guest appearance by me, photo by Mike.

Sunday, we went to Nice to the look out over town. We picked them up, and had 7 people in the car. The Municipal police told us "it is forbidden!". So we stopped, let the kids go nuts in the park, and walked it from there. The views are the best for town. Followed this by a swim in the kinda frosty water.

Monday, they had the day off to do their own thing. Tuesday everyone got on the train to Antibe, and I met them on the beach for dinner and some drinks for Jeannie's birthday. Wednesday was at Eze, and Thursday, Marie took them to the airport for a eye watering 7am flight.